KUALA LUMPUR: The refurbishment of the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, which includes the planting of new zeon zoysia grass, is on track for completion in September, says the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (MSC).
MSC chief executive officer Faidz Sanusi is expecting the venue to be ready to host the Pestabola Merdeka football tournament on October 14-17.
"Currently the works at the National Stadium are more than 50 per cent complete," said Faidz yesterday.
"There will be a (Muse) concert held at the stadium on Saturday, after that we can start planting the new grass on Aug 1.
"The drainage system and piping (for pitch) has been settled, all that is left is to plant the grass.
"The process will only take between two or three weeks because there will only be five containers of grass strips (to be rolled out).
"We, however, have to wait for the consultant to give us the green light for the pitch to be used. We have to let the grass to be stable first.
"If all goes to plan, the contractor should handover (the stadium) to us by the end of September so it will be ready to host Pestabola Merdeka.
"Our nursery, which is located next to the National Hockey Stadium, is also more than 50 per cent complete. After this we can take grass (strips) from there instead of having to grow it here at the stadium."
MSC have setup a nursery in Bukit Jalil to provide a continuous supply of grass patches for the National Stadium. This will speed up the repair process for the pitch in the future.
In addition to the pitch, other works being done at the stadium includes the refurbishment of the electrical systems, rooms and toilets.
The stadium had previously used cow grass (axonopus compressus) which is considered inferior for football.